Posts Tagged ‘Shape magazine’

Here’s the scoop on the next issue of Shape, which features actress and comedienne Olivia Munn:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

JUST AS HER NEW MOVIE HITS THEATRES, SHAPE CATCHES UP WITH OLIVIA MUNN ON MAINTAINING THAT SMOKIN’ BODY, KICKING BUTT AT VIDEO GAMES, AND BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Actress and comedienne Olivia Munn tells Editor Claire Connors in the October cover story of Shape that she loves her time with her girlfriends more than most people can imagine. “Yes, it may surprise you to know that most of my close friends are women. I don’t trust a girl who says she has a hard time being friends with other women. She’s the person who will steal your boyfriend.”

So what does she love to do with her girls? Munn shares a little bit on how they joke about guys, “I came up with dance aerobic routines that we do a few times a week to a 45-minute playlist. They have funny names like the One-Night-Stand and the Ex-Boyfriend. We all have that ex with the stupid dance who we love to hate, right? Mine did the jumping-up-and-down-fist-pump-in-the-air-with-an-overexcited-smile-plastered-on-his-face dance. It’s so much more fun than the alternative workouts my friends plan. They always ask me if I want to go for a hike. And I’m like, ‘No, why would I do that when I’ve got TiVo?’”

Despite her super-sexy physique, Munn — star of the brand new movie “I Don’t Know How She Does It” shows Shape that you don’t need a trainer, a gym or even sneakers to stay in shape. For years, she had regular one-on-one sessions with a Pilates instructor — until just a few months ago, when she got too busy with work to stick to a schedule. In the October issue she shows off the do-anywhere moves that keep her toned and sculpted and only need to be done 2-3 times each week.

Something else Munn does regularly is take care of her body, “I perform a self-exam every month. If you don’t keep an eye on your body and its changes, how can you expect a doctor to do it once or twice a year? Take care of your body: It’s the one thing that will be with you on this entire journey, from beginning to end. I was only 12 years old when my grandmother found out she had breast cancer. I remember thinking it was a death sentence. But she had a mastectomy and survived — and lived many wonderful years longer. She taught me that we fight to live and feel and love, and that you can’t let one experience define your existence.”

Other highlights of the interview include:

How Munn keeps track of her weight: She uses a scale!
I need to see the hard numbers in order to stay on track. I don’t believe in the “jeans” test because it’s easy to cheat — I have a pair that fits like sweatpants because I haven’t washed them since 1998! God forbid I’d have to go through the pain of stretching them out again.

How she lost 16 lbs in just two months: I made up a diet I called “If I can’t see it, I don’t eat it.”
For example, if you buy a roasted chicken at the store, it sounds healthy, right? But those brown juices in the pan are made of what? Sugar? Soy sauce? If I don’t know for sure, it’s not going in my mouth.

But it’s not too early to jump-start that bikini body, says Shape magazine.

Here are some excerpted tips from a feature in the mag’s current edition, now on newsstands, courtesy American Media Inc. (AMI):

Jump-start Your Bikini Body

Don’t wait until beach season to score sleek, sexy muscles. Follow this plan and you’ll be in your best shape ever by summer – plus leaner and fitter by the end of this month!

Our fifth annual Bikini Body Countdown helps you tackle your slim-down plan the healthy way, so you don’t have to work out for hours a day at the last minute. Even if you rarely wear a bathing suit, every woman wants to feel good in and out of her clothes – and trainer Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser understands that. This year he’s designed a program to help you drop pounds and firm up month by month, so you stay inspired as you go.

THE PLAN
Two or three times a week, do one set of each move in order without resting. Repeat the series twice. Four or five times a week, do a fat-blasting cardio workout from shape.com/bbc2011.

You’ll need a resistance tube or band and a set of 5- to 10-pound dumbbells (find gear at theshape store.com).

Total-body warm-up
Works butt, legs, and core
Stand with feet hip-width apart and raise left arm in front of you to shoulder height as you extend right leg forward. Next, extend left arm out to the left side as you bring right leg out to the right. Finally, bring left arm forward again as you lean over from hips and extend right leg behind you. Reach down and try to touch the ground, then rise up and repeat on the other side to complete one rep. Do 10 reps.

Curtsy lunge with hammer curl
Works butt, legs, and biceps
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand at sides, palms facing legs. Step right leg back and to the left of left leg as you lower into a lunge and curl weights to your shoulders. Return to starting position and switch sides to complete 1 rep. Do 10 reps.

Traveling push-up
Works chest, triceps, shoulders, and core
Get in push-up position on ground, hands slightly wider than shoulders, and balance on toes or knees. Lower chest toward ground, then press up. Step left hand and left foot out to the side, then bring right hand and foot in. Do another push-up, then travel to the right (returning to your starting position) to complete 1 rep. Do 5 to 8 reps.

Tornado raise
Works abs
Lie faceup with legs extended over hips, feet flexed, and loop the center of a resistance tube around the center of your feet. Cross the tube (so it makes an “X”) and hold a handle in each hand at sides, elbows bent 90 degrees and on the ground, palms facing each other. Make small circles with your legs as you slowly lower them toward the ground. Go as low as you can (don’t let your back arch up off the ground), then switch the direction of the circles and bring legs back to the starting position to complete 1 rep. Do 10 reps.

Tammy’s challenge
After having her second child, Tammy was ready to get her 125-pound body back. But because her daughter was born prematurely, she didn’t have time. “I was focused on her health, not mine,” she says. Sure enough, the scale stayed put at 155 pounds.

Plan of attack
Tammy’s daughter, Maddisyn, was healthy enough to come home when she was 3 months old. “After a few more months, she had improved so much that I thought it would be okay to do something for myself,” says Tammy. “I hated feeling so fat and tired. So even though I was really busy, I decided to use what little free time I had to try to slim down.”
Baby steps
Tammy made it her mission to squeeze in some sort of exercise at least three days a week. “I bought an elliptical machine so that I could work out at home, even if it was only for a few minutes while the baby was sleeping,” she says. “And I joined a gym that offered a babysitting service. Whenever I could, I’d drop my daughter off and spend 30 minutes lifting weights or doing cardio.” Within just a few weeks, the exercise began to pay off: “My pants were looser almost immediately, and I started dropping around 3 pounds a week,” she says. “I loved the results, but what surprised me most was how relaxed I felt after working out!”

Tammy’s progress gave her the motivation to change her diet too. “I ate a lot of takeout, so I thought I’d try making a few simple but healthy dishes at home,” she says. “On Sundays I’d cook a whole bunch of lean foods, like baked chicken, so I always had the start of a dish ready and no excuse to grab junk on my way home.” At the grocery store, Tammy also stocked up on backs of frozen veggies to mix into her meals. And to stave off between-meal hunger, she kept protein bars on hand. The weight kept coming off, and after four months she was down to a trim 110 pounds.

Spreading the word
Now, Tammy loves to talk with other moms about how she got healthy. “Women sometimes feel like it’s impossible to drop the pregnancy pounds, but that’s not true!” she says. “I knew I had a choice: hate what I see in the mirror or do something about it. Yes, I was tired and cranky at times, but I just focused on what exercise was doing for me: getting rid of stress, boosting my energy, giving me much-needed alone time—and suddenly going to the gym didn’t feel like a chore; it was something I truly craved.”

3 stick-with-it secrets
1. Indulge once a week — “I don’t eat a lot of junk, but on weekends I like to splurge with a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, and pancakes. To balance it out, I have healthy snacks and meals for the rest of the day.”
2. Find your comfort zone — “I joined a gym with a designated women’s weight area, which I really like. I don’t feel so self-conscious trying out a new move.”
3. Measure your progress — “The scale can go up or down for a lot of reasons, so it isn’t always the best way to track progress. Instead, I monitor how my clothes fit and the size of my waist and hips.”
Weekly workout schedule
• Strength training 30 minutes/4 days a week
• Elliptical machine 30 minutes/5 days a week